Longmont man faces February retrial in 1987 murder of ex-wife

Colorado appeals court ruled earlier this year that trial judge erred

By Pierrette J. ShieldsLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
12/27/2013 11:56:04 AM MST

Updated:
12/27/2013 11:57:50 AM MST

Kevin Elmarr speaks to his lawyers during opening statements in his trial on Wednesday at the Boulder County Courthouse in Boulder Colorado on July 21, 2009 . The Colorado Court of Appeals has overturned the conviction of a Longmont man who was found guilty of killing his ex-wife and dumping her body in a Boulder County canyon in 1987.
Kevin Elmarr was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted in 2009 of first-degree murder in the killing of his ex-wife, Carol Murphy.
(
MARTY CAIVANO
)

A Longmont man whose 2009 conviction in the 1987 murder of his ex-wife was overturned in February is scheduled for a retrial in the new year.

The Colorado Supreme Court earlier this month declined to overturn an appeals court decision that overturned Kevin Elmarr's murder conviction and returned the case to Boulder's district courts fore reconsideration. The appeals court ruled that the original trial judge -- now-retired Boulder District Judge James C. Klein -- erred by ruling that evidence pointing to two alternative suspects was inadmissible at Elmarr's trial.

Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett said his office reviewed the evidence and determined that Elmarr should be prosecuted in Carol Murphy's murder and set a new trial to begin Feb. 10, 2014.

Carol Murphy

"We will always re-evaluated the evidence to determine whether it meets the ethical standards to take a case for trial," he said.

Elmarr, who remained in prison while his case was under appeal, will be transferred back to Boulder County for new court proceedings.

Elmarr's case is one of several notable cold cases that were brought to trial as DNA technology advanced and has been increasingly used to prosecute older cases. A Boulder County jury heard the case in 2009 in Murphy's 1987 death. Elmarr was a suspect after her body was found, but he was not arrested until 2007 after a re-examination of case evidence revealed his DNA in samples collected from Murphy's body.

Prosecutors argued in 2009 that a tumultuous divorce and ongoing legal entanglements over the couple's two children motivated him to kill Murphy.

Hikers found her nude body facedown near a trail in Left Hand Canyon on May 23, 1987. Investigators determined she had been strangled and her throat was cut. Witnesses testified at the 2009 trial that Murphy and Elmarr had planned an outing to the mountains on May 22, 1987. Some testified they saw them leave together on his distinctly colored yellow motorcycle, which other witnesses recalled seeing parked near the area where Murphy's body was found.

Defense witnesses, however, told jurors that they either saw or heard from Murphy the evening of May 22, hours after investigators and prosecutors believe she was killed. They also testified about Murphy's sex life with multiple partners, specifically pointing to one of her lovers as a possible suspect.

Elmarr served as a volunteer rescuer for the Longmont Emergency Unit, or LEU, which meant he often worked alongside Boulder County Sheriff's investigators who suspected him in Murphy's murder.

After the appeals court issued its ruling, Garnett said he was disappointed because it takes a lot of work and resources to take a cold case to trial. He said on Friday that he could not comment specifically on the evidence in the Elmarr case, but his staff is preparing to take it to another Boulder County jury.